Fair features frog-jumping contest

Green, slimy competitors entertained crowd.

Green, slimy competitors entertained crowd.

August 05, 2006|BRENT FORGUES Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Don't be caught off guard by Peewee's name. "I have to tell you something about this frog," said Malcolm Garey, host of Champion Frog Jumping at the St. Joseph County 4-H Fair. "We don't call him Peewee because he's a little frog. "We call him Peewee because of what he might do." The nearly 100 people who gathered to watch the show Friday afternoon chuckled in unison as a small girl reached into a bucket and plucked out Peewee, an African toad as big as her head. "He really makes the show," Garey said after the performance. The routine, lasting about a half-hour, revolved around Garey inviting audience members to the "lily pad," made of brown- and green-colored cloths. There they tried to make one of four frogs, Knee Deep, Jerimiah, Ribbit and Peewee, the world's largest toad, hop the farthest distance in attempts to win a trophy. Garey suggested tickling them, telling them jokes, even kissing them to make them jump farther. "But remember, no frog football," he said. All of them jumped between 128 and 146 inches, but there was no declared winner because, Garey said, Peewee had cheated since he was a toad. As a result, everyone received a trophy. Brennen Boley, 4, of Grovertown, Ind., has played with frogs before at home, but wasn't ready for the likes of Jerimiah. "Gross," he said after holding the frog during the competition. "Slimy, too." Dorothy White, 62, of LaPorte, brought her grandchildren to the show because she wanted to see what Champion Frog Jumping was about. "This is a wonderful fair," she said just as the show began.